| Competition: | National Football League |
| Season: | 2005–06 |
| Dates: | 10 January – 21 May 2006 |
| Winners: | Mahindra United 1st NFL title 1st Indian title |
| Runners-Up: | East Bengal |
| Continentalcup2: | AFC Cup |
| League Topscorer: | Ranti Martins (13 goals) |
| Biggest Away Win: | [1] |
| Highest Scoring: | East Bengal 5–3 Dempo [2] |
| Matches: | 81 |
| Prevseason: | 2004–05 |
| Nextseason: | 2006–07 |
The 2005–06 National Football League, also known as the ONGC National Football League for sponsorship reasons, was the tenth season of the National Football League, the top Indian professional league for association football clubs, since its inception in 1996. It started on 10 January 2006 and concluded on 21 May.[3]
East Bengal's Bhaichung Bhutia was named the best player of the league.[4]
It was contested by 10 teams, and Mahindra United won the championship under the coach Derrick Pereira and this was their first title. East Bengal came second while Mohun Bagan came as third. Fransa Pax and Salgaocar were relegated from the National Football League 2006-07.
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals[5] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Ranti Martins | Dempo | 13 |
| 2 |  Bhaichung Bhutia | East Bengal | 12 |
| 3 | Dudu Omagbemi | Sporting Goa | 9 |
| 4 |  Yusif Yakubu | Mahindra United | 8 |
| 5 | Chidi Edeh | Sporting Goa | 7 |
| 6 |  José Ramirez Barreto | Mahindra United | 6 |
| 7 | Bashiree Mohammed | Air India | 4 |
| Roberto Mendes Silva | Dempo | ||
| Parveen Kumar | JCT | ||
| Shanmugam Venkatesh | Mahindra United |
| Player | For | Against | Result | Date | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dempo | Mahindra United | 3–4 (H) | 17 January 2006 | [6] | ||
| East Bengal | Sporting Clube | 4–3 (H) | 18 March 2006 | [7] | ||
| Sporting Clube | Mohammedan Sporting | 4–1 (H) | 8 April 2006 |
Note: (H) – Home; (A) – Away
The following awards were given at the conclusion of the season. Mohun Bagan's Bhaichung Bhutia was voted the best player of the season by the coaches and captains of all participating teams of the season. JCT Mills received the fairplay award for receiving the lowest number of cards (8).[4]
| Award | Recipient | Club |
|---|---|---|
| Best Player | Bhaichung Bhutia | Mohun Bagan |
| Best Midfielder | Shanmugam Venkatesh | Mahindra United |
| Best Goalkeeper | Sandip Nandy | Mahindra United |
| Best Defender | Mahesh Gawli | Mahindra United |
| Fair Play | JCT Mills |